When Should You Not Exercise During Pregnancy

Prenatal

lekhaka-Shabana Kachhi

By Shabana

on May 14, 2018

Pregnancy is a wonderful phase in a woman's life and all of us certainly look forward to it.
If you have recently given the good news to your friends and family, chances are there are suggestions galore pouring in from every near or distant relative you probably never even have met before.

The advices they give may be absurd but surely with good intentions of well-being to your baby and you. But all these suggestions may leave you thinking of what rules to follow and what not to. In such cases, it is always advisable to listen to your gynaecologist who will be in a better position to understand what may be good or bad for you during your pregnancy.

All women are different, so are their pregnancy phases. Therefore, pregnancy myths are often confusing and risky to follow without medical supervision.

During pregnancy, it is important for women to take a special care of their diets. But what to eat and what to avoid has always been a dilemma. While that will always be a matter of debate, one more thing that concerns women during pregnancy is exercise.

Exercise is something that most women, even athletes, are advised to avoid during pregnancy. But many women do their daily routines of exercise rather normally up until their advanced stages of pregnancy.

So the question is - When is the right time to stop exercising during pregnancy? Well, we are here to enlighten you regarding all you need to know about exercising during pregnancy.

This article will let you know if it is okay to exercise during pregnancy and when is the right time to stop it.

Exercise has a while lot of benefits to our body as well as the mind. It is indeed the best way to keep all the muscles in our body toned up and also this helps us keep our weight in check. But do we really need all this during pregnancy too?

Isn't it the time where our body needs to be given extra care and attention? While that is true, exercising cautiously benefits a lot during pregnancy as well.

As mentioned earlier, every woman's pregnancy is different from the others. Therefore, listening to your gynaecologist may be your best bet. If you are a sports-person or are active in physical activities, there are chances of your gyneac giving a go-ahead to your exercise routine during pregnancy too, provided you do not suffer from any abnormalities during the pregnancy.

Here are a few conditions where pregnant women are strictly advised not to indulge in any kind of physical activities, throughout their complete pregnancy to avoid complications.

1) Women carrying twins or triplets:

Women with multiple pregnancies are strictly advised to avoid exercise, as it may trigger pre-term labour.

2) Bleeding or spotting:

If you have experienced bleeding in the second and third trimester, it is better to avoid any physical activity, as it may put your baby's health at risk.

3) Anaemic women:

Anaemia or low iron count is dangerous during pregnancy and chances of injuries and blood loss are high while exercising. Therefore, women with anaemia are advised not to indulge in their regular routine of exercise.

4) Cardiac issues:

Women with heart diseases should not do any physical activity that puts their heart under immense pressure.

5) Hypertension:

High blood pressure is a red sign during pregnancy. So, if you're diagnosed with high blood pressure in your pregnancy, it is better to give your body some rest.

6) Premature dilation:

Physical exercise is a big no-no for women with cervical insufficiency, also called premature dilation. Exercise increases the amount of oxytocin in our body, which is the same hormone responsible for inducing labour.

7) Raptured membranes:

The baby in the womb is covered by the amniotic fluid, which is held in the womb by the amniotic plug. Stressful exercise sometimes may lead to the amniotic plug getting loose and the fluid leaking, which is very dangerous to the baby.

These are the times when exercise needs to be strictly avoided. If you are experiencing a completely normal pregnancy and are going through your regular exercise routines, here are some signs you need to watch out for, which serve as red flags:

1) If you have trouble breathing after a not-so-exhausting exercise routine.
2) If you are experiencing any kind of chest pain.
3) Sore muscles and swelling ankles.
4) Pain in the tummy or the pelvis area.
5) Extreme headache and dizziness.

These are some signs that will let you know that your baby may not be taking your physical activities too well. Pregnancy is the time to let go off your strict fitness rules for a bit and enjoy eating right for your baby and you. You can worry about the exercise later. After all, what makes the baby happy, should make you happy too, right?

Get breaking news alerts from Boldsky

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. This includes cookies from third party social media websites and ad networks. Such third party cookies may track your use on Boldsky sites for better rendering. Our partners use cookies to ensure we show you advertising that is relevant to you. If you continue without changing your settings, we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on Boldsky website. However, you can change your cookie settings at any time. Learn more